Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1540433
N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 5 5 7 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M assists in 68 games in the Western Hockey League during the 2024-25 season. Moving back to the attack, McKenna will be joined by freshmen Luke Misa and Shea Van Olm, who tore up Canadian ju- niors in recent seasons. Misa was selected by Calgary in the fifth round of the 2024 NHL Draft, while Van Olm ranked ninth in the WHL last year with 92 points in 66 regular-season games. Between The Pipes Fresh faces are also on the Penn State roster at the goaltender spot. Last sea- son's standout netminder Arsenii Ser- geev is now in the NHL. To replace him, the Lions welcomed Nebraska-Omaha transfer Kevin Reidler, whom Gadowsky compared favorably with Sergeev. The team also signed a top-ranked freshman, Josh Fleming, who is from Montreal. In addition to those two, senior John Sei- farth returns between the pipes, as well. Expect Reidler to lead the way in the early going. He and Fleming figure to be the team's tandem in net. "I think Kevin is coming in with [high] expectations," Gadowsky said of the 6-foot-6, 205-pound sophomore. "He is the one goalie that we brought in that does have collegiate experience. He is a little bit of Arsenii 2.0 in that he loves to compete. He's a fun guy. But we've also been extremely impressed with Josh — extremely impressed with the type of competitor and type of guy he is and how he's been on the ice. "We feel confident that we have two really good ones. It remains to be seen who's going to win that starting role. I think you can anticipate that Kevin will get the start initially, because he's had experience. But we expect both to be ex- cellent goaltenders and both to get op- portunities." Returning Talent With all the excitement surrounding the newcomers, it's easy to forget Penn State also returns an abundance of talent from last year's Frozen Four team. Junior forward Aiden Fink is back after setting single-season program records with 23 goals, 30 assists and 53 points last year. He was a second-team All-Ameri- can and a Hobey Baker finalist. Fink is joined by a trio of highly pro- ductive forwards in sophomores Charlie Cerrato and JJ Wiebusch and junior Matt DiMarsico. All told, the Nittany Lions are bringing back 75 percent of their total of- fense and 83 percent of their goal scoring from last season. They have the most re- turning goals (139) and points (378) of any team in the nation. The bar has been set exceptionally high for those players and their new team- mates. A trip to the Frozen Four, which will take place April 9-11 in Las Vegas, is expected. So, too, is a shot at winning the program's first NCAA title. The Lions got their season started with a two-game sweep of 14th-ranked Arizona State Oct. 3-4, then followed by splitting a pair of games against Clarkson at home the next weekend. Tougher challenges await in the Big Ten season, with five of Penn State's con- ference rivals ranked in the preseason coaches' poll — Michigan State (third), Minnesota (eighth), Michigan (12th), Ohio State (16th) and Wisconsin (20th). For Penn State, the foundation for this moment was laid long ago. After 13 years spent in pursuit of its ultimate ambitions, the program is poised for a turn in the national spotlight. Now, it must take care of business on the ice. ■ 2 0 2 5 - 2 6 S C H E D U L E Date Opponent Time/TV Oct. 3 at Arizona State W, 6-3 Oct. 4 at Arizona State W, 4-2 Oct. 9 CLARKSON L, 6-4 Oct. 10 CLARKSON W, 5-2 Oct. 17 LONG ISLAND 7:30 p.m. Oct. 18 LONG ISLAND 6 p.m. Oct. 24 STONEHILL 7 p.m. Oct. 25 STONEHILL 6 p.m. Oct. 30 at Ohio State 6:30 p.m./BTN Oct. 31 at Ohio State 6:30 p.m. Nov. 7 at Michigan State TBA Nov. 8 at Michigan State TBA Nov. 14 MICHIGAN TBA Nov. 15 MICHIGAN TBA Nov. 21 at Minnesota 8 p.m./FS1 Nov. 22 at Minnesota 8 p.m. Jan. 3 at RIT 7 p.m. Jan. 4 RIT 5 p.m. Jan. 9 MINNESOTA 6 p.m./BTN Jan. 10 MINNESOTA 6 p.m./BTN Jan. 16 NOTRE DAME TBA Jan. 17 NOTRE DAME 8 p.m./BTN Jan. 23 at Wisconsin TBA Jan. 24 at Wisconsin 8:30 p.m./BTN Jan. 30 MICHIGAN STATE TBA Jan. 31 MICHIGAN STATE* TBA Feb. 13 at Michigan 6:30 p.m./BTN Feb. 14 at Michigan 5 p.m./BTN Feb. 20 OHIO STATE 8:30 p.m./BTN Feb. 21 OHIO STATE 8 p.m./BTN Feb. 27 at Notre Dame 7:05 p.m./Peacock Feb. 28 at Notre Dame TBA/Peacock Mar. 5 WISCONSIN TBA Mar. 6 WISCONSIN TBA Mar. 11-21 Big Ten Tournament TBA Mar. 27-Apr. 11 NCAA Tournament TBA * Game to be played at Beaver Stadium Now in his 13th season with the Nittany Lions, coach Guy Gadowsky has compiled a 234-201-32 record. PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS